TheFind’s new iPad shopping app allows consumers to compare and buy

There are 123.1 million tablet users in the U.S., and 50.6% of Internet users use a tablet at least once a month to go online, according to research firm eMarketer Inc. Comparison shopping engine TheFind is looking to become the search engine and shopping mall of choice for shoppers on iPad tablets, debuting an iPad app that searches for products from more than 500,000 merchants, TheFind says.

Designed for the iPad’s large Retina Display and multi-touch screen, the mobile commerce app is designed to save shoppers time and money by searching across every online store, locating all current prices, displaying rich imagery and automatically filtering results based on individual preferences, TheFind says. Personal search results are driven by a user’s preferences as expressed through Facebook Likes, search activity on TheFind, and e-mail transaction receipts via Slice. The Retina Display is an Apple Inc. screen that uses a massive amount of pixels to show images and graphics, so many pixels that the eye cannot see any pixilation.

TheFind streamlined checkout in the app so any product can be easily purchased from any online store from within the app, the company says. E-mail receipts from any store allow the app to keep track of a user’s online orders, shipments, return windows and more, offering a picture of a consumer’s online commerce spending and habits.

According to a recent Harris Interactive survey conducted for TheFind, 87% of tablet owners use their tablets to browse for products online, 71% purchase products on their tablets, and 68% are interested in using a shopping app on their tablet.

“With iPads rapidly proliferating across America, they are poised to become the dominant device for at-home shopping within the next two to three years,” says Siva Kumar, CEO of TheFind. “Shopping stands out on the iPad as it is just about the only core segment of media consumption where most of the activity still happens in a browser, not an app. We think it’s simply a matter of time before something very much like TheFind for iPad, which aggregates across all stores, simplifies checkout and helps people manage their online spend, becomes a daily shopping habit for millions of online consumers.”